Victorian gas access arrangement proposals received

The following gas distribution companies have submitted revised gas access arrangement proposals (Proposals) for their Victorian and Albury gas networks to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for review, pursuant to their obligations under the National Gas Law (NGL):

• Vic Gas Distribution Pty Ltd (Envestra (Victoria))
• Albury Gas Co Ltd (Envestra (Albury))
• Multinet Gas (DB No. 1) Pty Ltd and Multinet Gas (DB No. 2) Pty Ltd as joint venture owners of Multinet Gas Distribution Partnership (Multinet)
• SPI Networks (Gas) Pty Ltd (SP AusNet)

The AER has publically released the Proposals for consideration and comment by interested parties. The Proposals and relevant information including the access arrangement information can be found on the AER's website.

Under the NGL and National Gas Rules the AER has the function of reviewing and approving the terms of the Proposals. The Proposals contain the terms, including prices, under which the gas distribution companies propose to provide gas retailers with access to their networks for the period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017. The AER assesses the terms of the Proposals against the National Gas Objective which is set out in the NGL. Following the review the AER must make a final decision to approve, or to refuse to approve a Proposal.

Submissions

The AER is seeking submissions on the Proposals for consideration in making its draft decisions on the Proposals.

Submissions should be sent electronically to VicGAARaer [dot] gov [dot] au (VicGAAR[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au) by 5pm AEST on Monday, 29 June 2012.

Interested parties are referred to the AER's Access Arrangement Guideline for further details on how to make submissions to the AER.

The AER may, but need not, consider a submission it receives after the consultation period has ended.

Timeline

The AER has developed a timeline that allows for a comprehensive review of each Proposal and associated submissions. Following a review of submissions received the AER’s draft decision will be released in September 2012. The AER’s final decision is to be released in March 2013.

These timeframes are designed to provide the AER with opportunities to extensively engage with Service Providers and other stakeholders prior to the release of the AER’s final decision.

Further inquiries

If you wish to be kept informed about this process through AER email notifications please register your interest by emailing AERinquiryaer [dot] gov [dot] au (AERinquiry[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au)

For any other inquiries about the Proposal review, please contact the AER on (02) 6243 1233. Alternatively, inquiries can be sent electronically to VicGAARaccc [dot] gov [dot] au (VicGAAR[at]accc[dot]gov[dot]au).